School Support Specialist Network
The Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education established the School Support Specialist Network in October 2002 as a primary component of the state's infrastructure of support to schools identified for improvement, corrective action and restructuring under NCLB. The School Support Specialist Network is composed of district-based and state-based School Support Specialists.
In FY2003 and FY2004, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education awarded grants to the state's 10 largest school districts, in which over 70% of the schools identified for improvement in the state's Cycle II School Performance Ratings are situated, to hire School Support Specialists to work directly in the district. In FY 2004, the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education hired three additional School Support Specialists that have been assigned to districts with fewer low performing schools to support their district leadership's school improvement activities.
The School Support Specialists Network meets at least monthly for full day sessions to provide training and to allow the specialists to develop and share resources. One of the first statewide initiatives undertaken by the Network was the training and application of the Performance Improvement Mapping (PIM) process, Massachusetts' data-driven, results oriented school improvement planning model for low-performing schools. (See Performance Improvement Mapping: A Handbook for School Planning Teams.) The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education provided extensive training to the School Support Specialists in the PIM process. As part of the training, each district specialist worked directly with at least one School Identified for Improvement to develop an improvement plan addressing the school's areas of low student performance. The Department of Elementary and Secondary Education trainers and other School Support Specialist Network members supported the School Support Specialists' learning and implementation of the PIM process and development of improvement plans. The Network members consulted on the further refinement of the PIM guidance and training materials.
Each of the 10 largest districts has now aligned their school improvement planning protocols with the PIM process and used it to develop the school improvement plans with their districts' schools identified for improvement. The School Support Specialists continue to share tools they have developed to assist in school planning and in monitoring schools' implementation of their plans. They are currently conducting a standard setting process to identify examples of rigorous and comprehensive school improvement plans. More recently, the School Support Specialist Network has concentrated on providing specific resources on effective practices in core content area instruction to help schools implement the improvement strategies identified in their school plans. School Support Specialists advance the improvement activities in Schools Identified for Improvement and Corrective Action by linking resources and strategies attained through Network activities to the low performing schools with needs in these content areas.
The district-based School Support Specialists also provide valuable district-level leadership focused on their neediest schools. Within the districts, the School Support Specialists:
- set criteria and guide the district's school improvement planning procedures to align with state and federal guidelines;
- design and implement the district's system of support to schools identified for improvement;
- coordinate the review process for School Improvement Plans;
- monitor the implementation of School Improvement Plans through regularly scheduled activities with low performing schools;
- assess the needs of the district's schools in need of improvement and match them with district and outside school supports;
- coordinate with other district leadership to direct district resources to address identified needs of schools in improvement status; and
- provide resources and/or training on scientifically-based strategies to schools.
The School Support Specialists Network serves as a communication link between high need districts and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. The Network meetings and frequent communication among the school district and Department of Elementary and Secondary Education specialists ensures that districts have direct access to information that is pertinent to their schools' status, state assessment data, as well as improvement strategies and resources. The School Support Specialist Network has provided training and shared resources on the following topics:
- Coaching techniques
- State and federal accountability system
- Curriculum and instruction in math and English language arts
- Data collection and analysis
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